April 10 Mail: Bongs, Internet Cafés and More

Posted:
Wednesday, April 10, 2013 12:00 am

No Bongs? No Drugs

I have lived in Florida for more than 20 years, and finally the Florida Legislature has acted in the best interest of the citizens. They overturned one of he few things Rick Scott has gotten right, the governor’s Medicaid plan that would have given many peace of mind when it came to medical care.

Then they outlawed bong sales, the reason being “to make it more difficult for drug addicts to smoke pot.” Hello, Florida, is there anybody in there? Ever heard of hookahs? In a pinch, there is grandpa’s favorite corncob pipe.

The United States’ war on drugs started with the Reagan Administration; it has been a complete failure, at a cost of billions of dollars. However, I believe by making the sale of bongs illegal in the state of Florida, the drug culture will dry up and go away.

Alice and the Mad Hatter had a tea party, some tea must have gotten into the hands of the Legislature, or perhaps it was magic mushrooms. Thank you, thank you, thank you — you have prevented tens of thousands of pot smokers from becoming hard drug users. It’s time for the Florida government to come up for air or cut down on the use of whippets.

Small tokes: The new stuff is really powerful.

Rick Mansfield

Ponte Vedra

Support for Internet Cafés

Internet cafés should be regulated in Florida because they can possibly be good business and nonprofit [online comment on “Should Internet Cafes Be Regulated or Prohibited in Florida?”]. I have tried one (non-related to Allied Veterans) a few times in affiliation with a hotel and cancer research proceeds. Some people have mentioned using Internet cafés because of convenience rather than a library (those who do not have a card because they're not local). Also, Internet cafés seem to light up some night’s sky and some risky communities, with their sense of a place of commune, relaxing and hope — if they were not present, there might be more tendency for crime in the area.

Lessie Smith

Jacksonville

Balanced Editor’s Notes

Each week I pickup a Folio Weekly and open it to the Editor’s Note.

It’s enlightening to read the facts presented about the issues dancing about in our society.

And best of all, your words in the two short columns seem balanced — urging me “think” with a capital “T.”

Thank you. It's a pleasure to read what you’ve taken your time, effort and energy to write.

Melodee Dew

Jacksonville

Dear Atheist

I admire your stance [“Atheists Are Moral People,” Feb. 27]. Unlike those who don’t decide (the agnostics, who won’t call heads or tails on a coin toss; heads, there is a god, tails, there isn’t), you have come down firmly on the NO side. Having, at times, gone through the doubting phase but finally making a choice for the Catholicism that I was reared in, I do, however, wonder if you have really examined the scientific reasons that, to me, speak to the existence of a Supreme Being. Aristotle thought about the cause and effect principle, another philosopher considered the question of movement. Someone or Something had to have been the First Mover or the First Cause that got things going. Today, we don’t question those things, but there are a couple that you should contemplate.

1. The Big Bang: I have a friend who says he was a non-believer until he wanted to know where all the H2 atoms that clumped together to kick it off came from. Nothing? How can some Thing come from Nothing? What gave these atoms their existence, what brought them into existence?

2. Life: Experiments have been conducted with amino acids, and we can get proteins. But how in the dickens did the cell material, the membrane, the DNA, the chlorophyll develop? Chance mutations? Most mutations are lethal. Granted that there were billions of years for mutations to occur; the question of how it got started does, perhaps, bring up the concept of an Outside Source of Life.

3. Earth: Isn’t it unusual in the Universe? Nice yellow sun, third rock is just right for living organisms. We keep looking for something similar, but they ain’t there. How did we luck out? Lots of time to evolve, but why not others? How come we don’t get scooped up in a black hole or have our sun go nova or something? Come on, universe: All you’re gonna do is throw an asteroid that conveniently wipes out the dinosaurs so mammals can take over? Like it was planned or something! Holy cow! Oops, that’s Hinduism.

4. Us: Why did humans evolve as the primates with the intellectual ability to even contemplate the possibility of a Supreme Being? Why weren’t we simply a bunch of hairless apes, running about eating whatever was handy, the males fighting over our harems of females, sleeping in quickly made beds at night in the trees and not thinking much beyond food, sex and sleep? No drugs or R&R. No really neat tools like a Porsche or Harley. No computer, WiFi, TV or anything remotely like that.

The Existentialists looked at this and said it is absurd; Karl Marx said we should share but never gave us a good reason. At least the Christians gave us a reason to share, although we don’t really do as we should. Those who hate you aren’t religious — they're lukewarm hypocrites and Jesus said He would spit them out of His mouth.

Think on these things: We all really won’t know if there is no God as we sink into the great nothingness of non-existence at death. If there is, and we must account for our behavior; even if you don’t believe, live like you did. Don't fall into the trap set by those who kill in abortions, mock those who believe, and live as if there is no tomorrow in promiscuity, drunken behavior, and being hurtful to others. The Golden Rule is good even for atheists. It doesn’t mention God, but it could.